Every Moment (Then Now and In Between)
by TriniTea
Summary: As soon as he was four, Grant Ward knew what he wanted; to see colour in a colourless world, and to have a friend. He felt like he would never be granted his wishes, until his neighbours adopt a girl named Skye. (AU)


...

 **Author's Note: Honesty, this year, I felt like I** _ **had**_ **to write some SkyeWard romance for Valentine's Day. So for all of the single people who get excited for Valentine's because of the fanfiction (myself included),** _ **and**_ **to the people that have a significant other, but just feel like reading something, this is for you! Feedback and comments are always welcomed and I hope you enjoy :)**

...

 _Eleven Years Ago_

Grant stuck his head out his bedroom window, watching a gray car pull into an even grayer driveway of the gray house next door. The engine turned off, and he watched as his neighbour, Mrs Melinda May (dressed in her normal dark colour scheme) exits from the passenger seat and then walk to the back of their car.

He lived in a world of black, white and shades in between. It's always been like that, ever since he was born. But his Gramsy told him that when someone falls on love with you, the world becomes bright and colourful and beautiful. She always tells these stories that have always seemed like fairy tales to Grant, the stories she told to Grant and his siblings described how the world looked like before grandpa passed. How the sky is blue, trees are green, and the sunset is orange, blue and purple all at the same time. It was a little complicated for his four year old brain to process, but all he wanted to do it to be able to see what Gramsy saw.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of a car door closing. A young girl stood on the driveway, beside the car. Her hair was in pigtails and she wore a flowered dress. This must have been the girl that the Coulson's adopted, Gramsy had mentioned it to him a few times. Even though Grant has his siblings, he can get a little tired of them, and he doesn't really have any other friends. So hopefully, she can be his first friend.

She looked around the area, taking in her new neighbourhood; the gray skies, the gray suburban homes and the gray sidewalks. She looks up, her gaze then met his. He ducked down, away from the sight line of the window. ' _She must think that I'm spying on her'_ Grant thought. He was hesitant to look back. He slowly rose to his feet again, peaking through his window. The girl was still looking at him, she smiled and waved to him. Grant exchanged a smile and awkward wave. Her smile widened, then Mr. Coulson said something to her and she hurried inside.

...

That day, Grant saw the girl again. She lay on the grass in the Coulson's front yard, staring up at the sky, and the puffy clouds floating by in the summer breeze. Grant was kneeled up on the couch, and watched her for a minute from the window in the living room.

"Grant," he heard Gramsy say, he turned away from the window to face his grandmother. "Stop watching the poor girl, and go outside to introduce yourself!"

"Umm, okay," he agreed as he headed for the door. He stopped for a moment to smile at his grandmother, before heading outside.

He walks across the driveway over to the Coulson's yard. He didn't know how to approach her, what was he supposed to say to her? Before he could think out a plan, the girl turned her head at the sound of his footsteps. "Hi,' she smiled, pushing herself up to a sitting position.

"Umm, hi. I'm Grant, I live next door," Grant introduced.

"You're the boy who was watching me in the window!" she exclaimed, Grant smiles awkwardly in return.

"Umm, yeah. Sorry about that," Grant approached her and took a seat beside her.

"It's okay," she laughed. "My name's Skye, well it used to be _Mary Sue Poots_ , but I didn't like it." Grant snickered in response.

"I like Skye better."

Skye fell back to the grass and said, "Yeah, me too. The nuns called me Mary Sue, but I think it sounds old."

Grant lowed himself down and lay beside her in the grass. "So, what are you doing outside?"

"Phil is getting pizza, and he told me that I could go outside until he comes back," she replied.

"How do you like the Coulsons?"

Skye thought for a moment before responding, "Phil and Melinda are very nice. They are the best family I have had. I don't want to go back, I want to stay with them."

"They are very nice. When I first moved here, they brought us cookies and helped me and my brothers and sister unpack. They won't send you back."

Skye's head turned to face him. "What about your parents? What are they like?"

The smile fell from Grant's face. "They...aren't nice people. They got into trouble and last year me and my brother and sister started to live with our grandma. I haven't seen them in a few months, I still don't really know what's going on and Gramsy won't tell me."

"Oh," Skye smiled weakly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. We're safe with Gramsy and that's all that matters," Grant said, turning back to face the gray sky, staring silently for a moment.

"My Gramsy told me that the sky is blue, and it's a beautiful colour. She tried telling me what blue looks like, but I still don't understand." Grant laughed.

"There was this girl at the orphanage, she's a teenager. She was trying to describe the colour pink to me, since she sees colour. She said that it is her favourite, but I didn't know what she was talking about." Skye laughed. "Someday I would like to see colour, people say that it is very pretty."

"Me too."

 _Present Day_

Grant watches from his bedroom window as the Coulson's gray car pulls into the even grayer driveway of their gray house. It's the same colourless world with the same gray skies, gray houses and gray sidewalks he's seen for the fifteen years of his life, but at his point he's used to it.

He watches as Skye steps out of the car and closes the door forcefully behind her. She's dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, with a large bag slung over her shoulder.

Grant slides open the glass and peaks his head out of the window. "Skye!" Grant yells down at her. She looks up at him with her soft eyes.

"Hi Grant!" she smiles.

"How was your vacation?" he calls.

"It was great! Come here, or I'm going to lose my voice!"

"Okay!" Grant closes his window, and heads towards the stairs.

He sits on the bottom step and ties his shoes as fast as possible, but loses his fingering when his sister interrupts his train of thought.

"What's the rush?" Rose asks from where she's sitting on the couch.

"Skye's back from her vacation." Grant explains, retying his shoe.

"No wonder you're excited, your girlfriend's back." Rose smirks. Grant rolls his eyes in response.

"Skye's my best friend, she's like a second sister to me."

"A sister that you want to make out with, no, wait, that's weird. I take it back," Rose laughs. "Tell Skye I said 'Hi'."

"Okay," Grant replies as he opens the door, and closes it behind him.

...

Skye stands in his driveway, waiting for him. "Grant!" Skye exclaims, running up to him and pulls him into a hug once he closed the door. "I missed you!"

"Me too, it feels like I haven't seen you all summer," Grant begins. "So how was your vacation?"

"It was good. Oh, and I got you this," she detaches herself from him and reaches into her bag. She takes out a Great Wall of China snow globe and hands it to Grant. "I know it's a little tacky and not really you, but they didn't have any board games or Henleys at the gift shop."

Grant snickers, "Thanks, at least it's better than the hula girl you got me last time."

"Hey!" she exclaims. "I thought you liked it! We have matching ones!"

"Half naked dancing dashboard dolls aren't really my style."

Skye laughs. "Well if you put it that way. You could have said if you didn't like it."

"It's alright, I've probably given you tacky, over priced stuff from gift shops too." Grant replies.

"So what did you do this summer?" Skye asks.

Grant stops for a moment before responding, "Err, not much to be honest. We were helping Gramsy renovate a little, but that's pretty much it."

"Well, we still have a month left to do whatever before school starts up again, and I intend to make up for lost time and forefull our annual summer traditions."

Years ago they made a list of things that they have to do ever summer, and they add a few new things to the list ever year. It has about twenty-two activities; some of the highlights are _building a blanket fort_ , _go to an old-school arcade, bake cupcakes_ and _watch a Christmas movie_ (Skye likes watching Home Alone, while Grant prefers Die Hard). Ever since they made the list, they have never gone a year without completing it, and they don't plan on breaking the streak anytime soon.

"Yeah, I'll guess we'll have to." Grant smiles.

"Skye!" They turn to see Phil Coulson, calling out from the back of his car. "I'll need some help unpacking."

"Okay dad!" she calls back, she turns back to Grant. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

Skye then rises to her toes and pecks Grant on the check, before smiling and running off to help her dad.

Grant just stands in shock. _Wait... What just—did Skye just—just kiss me?_

...

Grant lays awake, staring at the popcorn ceiling. He reaches up to his face, brushing his figure tips against the where Skye's lips touched his cheek. The voice at the back of his mind, is telling him that it was just a friendly jester, it isn't unusual for her to lean against him while they watch TV, or for her to take a bite of his food. Yet, there was a part of him that was saying that it could be something more.

He's not able to ignore the fact that his is best friend is very attractive. With her long, soft hair and her sparking eyes, not to mention the ways she laughs and her smile that seems to brighten up the room...

Is he—wait, that's ridiculous, they're best friends, isn't there that universal law stating that you can't fall in love with your best friend? Wait, _fall in love with your best friend_ , what is he thinking? He can't be in love with Skye! Can he?

They've been best friend since they were four, and they were always there for each other; when Skye broke her arm when they when sledging when they were seven, he was there to calm her down and got help. The times when they would do the Macarena during the slow dances at elementary school dances because they had no one to dance with. When she had a monster flu when they were eleven, and he brought her soup and held back her hair when she threw up, despite the fact that she got him sick too. Those moments that they had together, those where some of the best moments of his life. The best moments in his life were with Skye.

"I'm...in love with Skye," he whispers to himself to hear what it sounds like out loud. "I'm in love with Skye."

...

Grant wakes from his sleep when he hears his phone ding. He rolls over to his nightstand, taking a glance at his clock that reads **6:26 am** in glowing letters. Reaching over to his nightstand, he moves his hand around blindly until he found his phone. Grant turns on his phone and lets it illumine the room.

Skye: _GRANT THE WORLD IS COLOURFUL. IM FREAKING OUT_

Grant's heart drop, _he's in love with Skye_. How should he respond? Should he confess to her? No, he can't tell her through text message.

Grant: **How does the world look?**

Skye: _its amazing, everything is soooo pretty. can i talk to you in person now, i need someone to talk too_

Grant: **Okay. I just have to ask Gramsy. She got mad the last time I left without an explanation.**

Skye: _is she power walking around the park?_

Grant laughs, before responding.

Grant: **No, I think she is watching a James Bond movie, I can hear gunshot noises coming from the TV downstairs.**

Skye: _damn grant, your gramsy is hardcore_

Grant: **I thought you already knew that. I'll be over in a minute.**

Skye: _ok_

Grant puts his phone back on his bed side and slips out of bed. Unfortunately it's proves hard for him to pick out something presentable to wear for when he sees Skye. He has no idea if the Henley and jeans he picks out go with each other. He just slips it on and hopes for the best.

He walks down stairs to the living room, where Gramsy sits on the couch at watches one of the old James Bond movies.

"Hello Grant," she says, turning away from the television for a moment. "Do you want to watch with me? It's starting to get to the final battle."

"Actually, I was wondering if I could go over a see Skye." Grant responds, resting his hand at the crook for his neck.

"Isn't it a little early for her? I remember when you were younger, and you would knock on her door in the morning to ask if she wanted to come out and play, but she was still sleeping until eleven 'o' clock!"

"Yeah it is, but now she's seeing colour for the first time."

Gramsy smiles, "She is? You finally realized that you like her?" Heat rushes to Grant's cheeks, redirecting his gaze from his grandmother's eyes.

"Gramsy I—"

"I know you're in love with her, I'm not in my prime anymore, but I'm not blind." she protests. "I'm happy for you, and for her. It just took you so long for you to realize that you love her. You can understand why Rosie was teasing you so much. So go and see her!"

"Thanks Gramsy," Grant smiles as he goes to put on his shoes.

He is about to do one of the most terrifying things in a teenager's; tell his crush (who also happens to be his best friend) that he likes her. Normally people like him would practice in front of a mirror for at least a half an hour, but he didn't have that luxury of time. _Here goes nothing,_ he thinks as he closes the door behind him.

...

Grant takes a deep breath before he rings the doorbell on the Coulson's front door. Skye opens the door almost immediately. She smiles brightly before throwing herself into his arms. "Grant! Everything is so perfect and beautiful and amazing, I wish you could see it right now." _Yeah, I wish I could see it too_.

"I would ask you to tell be all about it, but I don't think I'll understand," he lets out a chuckle. Skye detaches herself from him, and stands back for a moment to take a good look at him. Her eyes lock with his shoes and she starts to laugh hysterically.

"Grant, your—your shoes!" she covers her mouth to try and hold back her laugh. "They're hot pink!" Grant look down at his shoes, but all he sees is gray and more gray.

"Is that a bad thing?" he looks back at her and raises an eyebrow.

"Well it explains why some people stare at you whenever you wear those shoes. Grant, pink, not to mention _hot_ pink is a girly colour, like tacky 80's workout clothes and knockoff Disney Princess gowns!"

Grant snickers, "I guess you'll have to come with me next time I go shoe shopping, if my shoes are such a crime."

"Yes, yes they are." Skye grabs his arm and closes the door behind her. "Now, we're going for a walk so I can finally see the beauty in nature." Okay, a walk in the wood, so no one can hear the sound of his heartbreaking if Skye says she just wants to be friends, good.

...

Grant walks beside Skye, hands slipped into his pockets to prevent the temptation to reach out and hold her hand. They're walking along the trails a few blocks away from where they live, so that Skye can take in all the 'ooh' and 'aahh's that life has to offer. Her eyes are darting from left to right to left again. She suddenly becomes fascinated in every little thing that there is to see. It's like she's rediscovering everything that she already knew, finding interest in rocks she's seen a million times, or staring at grass contently, like she's watching it grow.

While Grant is left looking at the gray world he is so used to. Should he tell her how he feels? He doesn't want it to ruin their friendship. But right now—as he's devising a plan—he's simply content with watching her with a look of pure wonderment on her face. He has never seen her this happy, _ever_.

They continue to walk along the path until they reach _their_ spot; which is a clearing in the woods just outside of the trail. There is a massive oak tree in the center that they used to climb all the time when they were younger. Skye smiles as she grabs Grant by the arms and drags him through the forest.

Skye stops and stares in awe at the giant oak when the reach the clearing. "Wow," she says under her breath. "It's so beautiful." She runs through the thick grass to stand under the tree, Grant following behind her.

"I haven't climbed this tree in so long," she turns to Grant. "How does a tree climbing contest sound to you?" Grant smiles. When they were younger, they would always have these tree climbing competitions. Skye used to be the champion, but once they got older, Grant started to have a height advantage over her.

"I think I'll just watch," he answers, giving himself enough time to think through his plan.

"Okay, have it your way Captain Buzzkill," Skye mocks as she grabs onto one of the lower hanging branches and pulls herself up. "This is so much easier than when were little." Skye steadies herself on one of the branches and reaches for another.

Grant takes his hands out of his pocket, his palms are sweaty. He rubs them dry against his jeans, and crosses them across his chest. He shifts his gaze to his feet. Was Gramsy and Rosie right? Has he been completely oblivious to the possible romantic connection he has with Skye?

But what if she doesn't feel the same connection that he does? The ' _best friends falling in love'_ thing is always a cheesy Hollywood trope that rarely happens in real life.

And how could a girl like her like a guy like him? Personality wise, they couldn't be more different. She's more outgoing and sociable, while he's closed off and prefers time alone. Yet, somehow, Grant thinks that they complement each other; she always pushes him out of his comfort zone, makes him try new things and makes him see things in a different way, like her does for her.

But what if she wants to be with someone who is more like her? He wouldn't blame her if she wanted to be with some as outgoing as herself. Will telling her how he feels ruin their friendship, or will leaving her to wonder who is her secret admirer ruin their friendship?

Grant looks back at Skye, who is directly above him, but not that far up the tree. She peaks up onto her tippy-toes and grabs the branch above her. As she puts more weight on it to pull herself up, the branch snaps in two. The sudden change causes her to lose her balance. "Grant!" she screams. One of her feet slips off from the branch and she begins to fall from the tree.

Grant has barely any time to react. As Skye falls, he puts him arms out. When she is in his reach, he jumps up the slightest, pulling her into his arms. Grant lands back to the ground and trips a few steps back, before falling to the ground, Skye still in his safe embrace, lying on his chest. He can almost Skye's heart beating out of her chest as he lets his arms fall to his sides.

"Thanks—thanks Grant," she breaths heavily as she rolls off his chest and onto the grass beside. "Thank you so much."

"It's no problem," Grant says, pushing himself up from the grass.

"No, I mean it Grant, I could have been seriously hurt. I could have gotten a concussion or—or worse." Skye shift up to hug Grant tightly. "You're a real life saver, thank you. You are the best person in the world and—and thank you." Grant closes his eyes and melts into her embrace.

"I don't think I could live without you, I would never let anything happen to you," he replies.

"Me too," Skye responds. Grant opens his eyes again, staring into a vibrant, _colourful_ forest. He gasps loudly, it's almost too much to try and process at once.

"Grant?" Skye asks. "Are you alright?" Grant almost has no words, everything is—is just so beautiful. The way the light shines on the through the trees is stunning, the vibrant flora and fauna is breathtaking and he could get lost in the beautiful colour of Skye's hair.

"I—I can see colour." He pulls away from the hug, to stare Skye in the eye. She looks at him with her doe eyes, her soft, chestnut hair framing her face perfectly.

Skye speaks softly, "Grant...I—"

He cups her cheek and crashes his lips against hers. It's an impulsive move, letting pure desire take over his actions. Skye doesn't respond, staying frozen in his arms. Grant pulls back after a moment, looking back into her eyes, looking for an answer. Red colours her cheeks and she takes a deep breath.

Skye leans into Grant, pausing when she could feel his breath against her. Their lips touch softly, before they lean deeper into each other. Both of them are inexperienced with kisses, so it starts out slow, but then later explodes into a full, passionate kiss.

Grant pulls her closer as her hands slide down his chest. His tongue brushes against her lower lip, her lips part in response, granting him the access that he so desires. They go back and forth, their tongues battling for dominance and only break the kiss when it becomes hard to breathe.

"Wow," Skye says breathlessly as their foreheads press together. "That was one hell of a first kiss."

"Agreed," Grant says, before leaning down and giving her a quick kiss. "Why don't we go back to my house to build a blanket fort and maybe watch a Christmas movie?" Grant stands up with Skye and laces their hands together.

"Sure," Skye smiles, looking up at her. "But will there be more making out?" Her smile grows into a smirk.

"As long as Gramsy doesn't get a heart attack, then I think arrangements can be made," he smiles back down to her. Grant looks back ahead to the beautiful forest (which is not nearly as beautiful as the girl standing beside him).

When Grant was younger, he wanted two things; a friend, and to see colour. Luckily for him, he has now has both, and they came with the same person; Skye. The best moments in his life were with Skye; from when he was looking at her from his bedroom window, to now, as they stand in the forest with their hands locked together, and every moment in between.


End file.
